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SOTA c41s01
Text Antares Mīrus stood on a balcony of Canterlot Castle, his wing in a cast, and a mug of coffee floating in front of him. He had a few bandages wrapped around his body, but for the most part he was more bruised than anything else, and that was a relief in its own way. He didn't like being covered in bandages... it always made him feel stupid and reminded him of all the ways he could have done things better. But for once, he was trying not to think about any of that. Today, all of Canterlot was celebrating the fact the evil floating island had been defeated. The citizens of Equestria were holding up their Princesses as the heroes, but Antares thought that was right: Little Luna deserved a good share of the credit with all the help she had provided them, after all. They were just visitors here from another world, who had happened to get wrapped up in things for their own personal reasons. They didn't need or even really deserve the applause: sure, they had done a good thing, but they had done that good thing for their own reasons. It was silly to expect a reward for it, no matter how much it helped others. Antares pushed the thoughts away: okay, so he was doing a bad job of convincing himself he was entirely content. It would admittedly be nice to hear a 'good job' from someone, but he knew that with all the running around he'd been doing in his own damn head it would just make him feel guilty, too. Besides, he had gotten a reward: it was well-past noon, and he had just woken up. He'd actually slept more than a few fitful hours. The stallion smiled to himself and turned around, heading back to the little dining table set up out on the balcony with his mug floating beside him. He and Meadowlark had been given a nice little breakfast here, and then Meadow had gone to check up on Avalon and see if her bout of short-term amnesia had passed: Antares had wanted to go as well, but he'd been told that someone else really wanted to talk to him, so the stallion had decided to catch up later with his friends. Aphrodisia was somewhere with Sleipnir and Pinkamena, Morning Glory he was sure was prowling around somewhere, Tender Trust was probably already with Avalon. Everyone was recovering well from what he knew... although of course, he only had word of mouth to go by, and he knew that some of his friends were a little prone to lying about whether they were hurt or not. He smiled a little to himself as he glanced down at the table, then picked up one of the slices of fruit and tossed it into his mouth, chewing slowly. Breakfast had been wonderfully huge and filling, and eating breakfast in place of lunch had been kind of a nice experience for him. He glanced over the little table, then down at his mostly-empty mug of coffee before shrugging and refilling it. He knew he'd probably need the energy today, after all. Even with the fortress destroyed and only a few Clockwork creatures noticed fleeing the ruins, he had a bad feeling that Psukhikos was in all likelihood still alive somewhere. That brought other questions to mind, but a few of them, at least, he thought he had the answers for... and tonight, when they went down to check on the ruins, he knew they'd get more. They might even be able to find out whatever it was that Psukhikos had been guarding, assuming the fortress hadn't completely collapsed in on itself and destroyed any useful clues. The stallion sipped thoughtfully at his coffee, then glanced up as he heard hoofsteps before smiling a little when Twilight Sparkle strode out onto the balcony. He was admittedly a little surprised... but only because she wasn't accompanied by anypony else. “Uh, hi.” “Hi.” Twilight replied softly, and then she smiled a little, adding quietly: “If this is a bad time or anything, or... you know, you're too busy...” “No, not at all. It's nice to get to sit and talk to you, actually, you're... well, you're important to me back home.” Antares smiled a little, and Twilight nodded and looked at him softly, and the two ponies hesitated before almost in the same moment, they pulled back the chairs of the table and sat down across from each other. It made them both look at each other with surprise, then share an awkward laugh, but it broke the sense of tension in the air. Twilight looked across at him, and Antares gazed back before the violet pony said softly: “It's funny. I know it's possible for a unicorn to become an alicorn... I kind of had an experience with that once before, but... I wasn't ready, the level of responsibility was too much, and... things didn't work out too well. I heard that on your layer, though, Twilight Sparkle handled that next stage of learning much better than I did. She became an alicorn a long time ago, right?” “You turned into alicorn? Like, you were a magical statue?” Antares asked dumbly, and when Twilight looked at him blankly, he stared back for a moment before slapping his forehead and grinning embarrassedly as his acuity kicked in, and he understood what she meant. “Wait, wait, you mean winged unicorn, okay. Sorry, in my world, 'alicorn' refers to the material our horns are made of.” “Oh, I see... I didn't know that.” Twilight leaned forwards, looking interested as she asked curiously: “Are there any other words that have different meanings that you know of? What about locations, places? There's so much I want to ask you...” Antares only shrugged lamely, smiling awkwardly before he said slowly: “Well, the... the Equestria I come from, I think it's much smaller population-wise. And we have more wilds, and fewer cities and settlements... uh... well, it's really hard to put everything into words, you know?” He stopped, then hesitated for a moment and added softly: “And well... just because I have these wings, and I'm a unicorn... I don't think it makes me a winged unicorn. In the literal sense, sure, but... they're not really supposed to be there. My body reminds me of that every day. I'm just a unicorn.” He rolled his shoulders slowly, and Twilight nodded a few times, hesitating for a few long moments. Antares gave her a reassuring look, and then Twilight asked carefully, looking a little embarrassed: “You're... Luna Brynhild's son, and Scrivener Blooms' son... and kind of... that Twilight's son, I heard. How... how does that work?” “I know it's weird. But Twilight did... look after me, take care of me, for ten years without Mom and Dad around. And she was always... part of the family. She was always my Mom. It just... is.” Antares said finally, and when Twilight cocked her head curiously, the stallion laughed a little and shook his head slowly. “I know. I know, it's... it's funny. Or weird. Well, you know, I used to get bullied a lot about it. I think the fact that my parents were so important and so much has always been on me actually... made me a bigger target for bullies, to be honest. And I've always stuck... really tightly with the same group of friends.” Twilight tilted her head curiously, and Antares smile a little as he shrugged a bit, finding himself beginning to talk about his early life without even meaning to: it was something he almost never even thought about these days, and yet... “Well, see... Mom and Dad... they were gone for almost ten years, and Twilight looked after me. She tutored me, and so did my Aunt Tia and a lot of other ponies helped out too. “I spent a lot of time with my friends, too. They helped me, a lot... Meadowlark, Avalon, especially Apps. Ponyville has always been a safe place, a good place, but there's always... you know. A few ponies who want to shove you around, or get on your case about things.” Antares continued, nodding and giving a small smile. “And when we had to stay at Canterlot, because Mom was helping out Aunt Tia with the barony problems, or doing work at the magic school, or working in Subterra... well, I didn't really have my friends around or anything, and I was told to sit in on magic academy classes. A lot of the unicorns were older than me and really didn't like that this... creepy little kid was just kind of allowed to sit in and learn about all this stuff. Especially because even now I still have trouble with stuff as simple as telekinetic control.” Twilight blushed ever-so-slightly, and Antares smiled a little: yeah, she definitely understood. But he kind of did, too... “I tried to never hold it against them. I could see why they were so upset... I couldn't do any magic, and to even be considered by the school you had to show off... well, quite a bit of talent, right? And I think what made them even madder was that I could still learn the theory... it's not that I... that I don't understand magic, it's that I just can't call it up properly. It's like... dancing, or rodeo or something, I can't get the feel for it down.” The stallion paused, then he shook his head slowly and said softly: “And well... ponies were scared in those days, too. Subterra, a place for the demons and stuff to stay... that was being built right beneath Canterlot. Rumors were going around about... what had happened to my Mom. Really cruel, really... just unfair stuff. She was... she was killed.” Twilight Sparkle looked up in surprise, and Antares nodded slowly, playing silently with his mug of coffee before he asked softly: “Do you know what a Lich is?” The violet mare hesitated, then said slowly: “An evil pony, kept alive by their own magic. It's a very dark form of magic... isn't it?” She looked up uneasily, and Antares smiled a little before he answered quietly: “My family taught me that anything is only as good or evil as you make it. Good and evil aren't... they're just concepts we attach to things, because... that's what people do, I guess. Label things so we can love them or hate them, whichever we please. “Mom became a Lich. Not for power, but to help Scrivener and Luna... to keep fighting beside them against this evil that had invaded our world.” Antares continued, shaking his head slowly before he laughed a bit. “And look, I just did it, didn't I? Said one thing was evil when I...” He quieted and shook his head, then smiled awkwardly at Twilight Sparkle as she gazed at him with silent compassion. “I'm sorry. I just feel awkward telling you this, since... you know, you're Twilight Sparkle too. A different Twilight, and I don't want you to think that... you know. This stuff has to happen to you too. Our original layer was... well, we're not sure where it was. All we know is that our world is so radically different from the other layers because of what we went through.” He quieted, and there was silence for a few moments before Twilight prompted gently: “So... I thought demons were accepted on your layer, though? When Luna Brynhild was here, she talked about them a lot, and... Pinkamena, Aphrodisia, Morning Glory and Tender Trust are all demons, and Sleipnir must be... well, he's definitely more than just a normal pony, right?” Antares Mīrus smiled slightly at this, shaking his head. “Tender Trust is half-Phooka. Phooka are more like nature spirits in our world, they're not demons. And Sleipnir is... well, a lot of the demons call him 'Heaven Sent,' because he died a long time ago, but was allowed to return to Equestria under special circumstances. But that's a really, really long, complex story...” “I have time.” Twilight said almost too eagerly, and Antares cocked his head curiously, studying her as she blushed a little and sat back, and there was silence for a few moments before the violet mare looked almost embarrassedly up at him and said softly: “It's just fascinating... and a little selfish. I... I don't know what I must be like in other layers of reality, but I'm a bit of a screwup here, Antares. I overreact. I question too much. I let my anxiety take over and it leads me to doing stupid things, and needing... a lot of help. “I was thinking about something. Ponies here are older than you, but we age slower... we must mature a lot slower, too.” Twilight smiled a little, touching her own chest silently. “And honestly? I'm glad I'm not a Lich, or a winged unicorn, because... I couldn't handle that responsibility. I'm working hard as apprentice to Princess Celestia, and every day I learn something new. Whether I'm in Ponyville or anywhere else. And I crave to learn more about everything, but especially about... about what I might have done right in other layers.” Twilight halted, looking down for a moment before she nodded once and gave a small smile, eyes flicking up to Antares. “Listen... this... this is going to sound a little funny, maybe, but I think if I was your Mom in another layer, and... you turned out like this... then I couldn't've been the same Twilight who, right after defeating Nightmare Moon, almost made Princess Luna cry with all the questions she asked. I couldn't have been the same Twilight who sent a letter to Princess Celestia about a silly showmare, saying she should be arrested for all sorts of criminal violations I dug up, almost out of... not spite maybe, but close. “It... it gives me a lot of hope to think that... maybe I'm a little... weird... in other layers, but I'd rather be weird than...” Twilight Sparkle reached up and rubbed at her throat awkwardly, blushing a little. “You know.” “Yeah, I do.” Antares said softly, and then he smiled a little before nodding once. For a few moments there was quiet, and then the stallion shook his head slowly before he said softly: “You seem a lot like my Mom, though. I think that's why I got rambling away so much, Twilight. I don't think there's anything wrong with you at all.” Twilight laughed quietly at this, but she looked honestly touched as she gazed down and rubbed embarrassedly at her features for a moment. There was silence, and then the mare finally looked up and gave a single nod, and they simply looked at each other, studying one-another in the quiet that followed. Neither knew what to do or say, but both still felt like the conversation was continuing on in the gestures they made and the gazes they shared. Just as they were settling in with each other, and Antares felt like he should try and figure out some question to ask, loud hoofsteps filled the air and they were joined by Morning Glory. Her massive, metallic body gleamed and her face was uncovered, golden-fire mane and tail twisting and brimming with vitality: it was like the injuries she had taken yesterday had made her stronger today. But she also looked far-less-than-thrilled, and Antares fought hard to repress a grin: Pinkie Pie was bouncing cheerfully beside the enormous demon, and seated on her metallic back was Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus grinning broadly from ear-to-ear and waved quickly down at Twilight. “Hey, hey, look at me!” “She's on a horse!” Pinkie Pie said brightly, then paused and peered at the demon when Morning Glory gave her a flat look and Twilight dropped her face in a hoof. “And she is a horse. Wait, she's a horse on a horse!” “You're all whores.” Morning Glory muttered moodily, and Pinkie Pie stared up at her as Rainbow Dash huffed and booted the demon's side lightly... then squeaked when a chain shot up from the back of Morning Glory's neck and wrapped tightly around her, as the demon said in a slow, patient voice: “Now, you and your friends weigh like flies to me. I do not mind your silly, foalish games because I recognize that you are all silly, foalish ponies who could not defend themselves against mosquitoes, far less any kind of real threat. But if you ever attempt to spur me like a steed again I will remove all the bones from your body, rip your intestines out, and make you into a pretty kite.” “I like kites.” Pinkie Pie said positively, and when Morning Glory glared down at her, the bright pink mare only smiled up at her warmly in return. “It's okay to smile, you know. Like my inter-dimensional sister showed me, you might look real scary and do scary things but I know you're not really scary at all. Well, you are, but we don't have to be scared of you because you worked so hard to protect us. And you wouldn't really hurt us after doing so much for us, when you never had to do anything in the first place.” “Maybe I just like the color of blood.” Morning Glory said moodily, her chain constricting Dash tightly, and the mare squeaked a breath out as her eyes bulged, flailing weakly at the air. “Don't judge me like you'd judge Pinkamena. She's only half-Wrath, and didn't spend all the time in Helheim that I did. With my kind, the people we hate, we hurt: the people we like, we hurt more.” Pinkie Pie looked awkward at this, and Dash flailed weakly as Twilight winced and Antares sighed. He was about to step in, and then Pinkie Pie cleared her throat and rose a front hoof, lightly punching the demon in the knee as she said finally: “Well, I.. I like you, see? So can you please not strangle Dash? She was just trying to say she likes you too.” For a moment, Morning Glory looked thoughtful... then she yanked Rainbow Dash into the air before slinging her down into Pinkie Pie, making her squeak as Rainbow gasped in and out for breath, before Morning Glory replied calmly as she strode out onto the balcony: “I like you too.” Her chain twisted back and forth, then withdrew into her body as she stood over the table, looking meditatively back and forth before she lifted the carafe of coffee with telekinesis. She tilted it back as she opened her mouth wide, drinking down the steaming black liquid as Antares stared up at her with disbelief and Twilight gaped a little, and then the demon dropped the heated coffeepot back on the table before her eyes moodily looked over at Antares. “Finish up your tea party. You and I have training to attend to. Your showing yesterday was miserable, and the fact your body gave out at such a crucial moment is pathetic. So we're going to work on your endurance, and then we're going to get back to see if you can actually learn how to use magic properly, instead of just doing what my brother does and flinging unfocused magic in every direction.” “I. Ouch. Ouch.” Antares made a face, and then he held up his cup of coffee, saying finally: “Look, Twilight and I are just about done, so uh... let me finish this and-” Morning Glory's horn glowed brightly, and the cup in Antares' hands burst into white flames as he yelped and tossed it down. Both he and Twilight shoved away from the table as the coffee inside the mug turned to steam, while the mug itself all but dissolved, before Morning Glory's horn glowed brighter as she leaned menacingly down. The table glowed with white light that turned into wreathing fire before it rapidly began to melt and simply dissolve, the ponies to either side floundering out of their chairs and scrambling away as the table, the food, and part of the floor was burnt to nothing but a splotch of ashes and glowing embers in a matter of seconds. Then Morning Glory looked moodily up and said sourly: “You're done. And next time, Antares, that will be you. I am not your mommy and I do not take backtalk from my apprentices.” “I'm... what? When did I become your apprentice?” Antares asked with dumb surprise after a moment, and then he yelped when a chain lashed out from the enormous demon and seized him around one leg, hauling him into the air so she could glare into his eyes as he dangled helplessly by one limb. “Okay, okay! I... sorry, Twilight. I have to go get beaten up now.” Morning Glory grunted as the other ponies only stared, and then the enormous mare turned and strode to the edge off the balcony before her chain twisted outwards, dangling the stallion over it. He stared stupidly down at the courtyard several levels below, and he looked creakily up as Morning Glory said contemptibly: “The first lesson of learning to stand on your own four hooves, Antares, instead of riding in someone else's shadow all the time, is to believe you can. If you believe you can survive the fall, Antares, you will. If you don't, I'm going to pick up the biggest piece of you left over and drop you again.” Antares mouthed a slow denial... and then he felt the chain go loose and he fell, the ponies of this layer running to the edge of the balcony and staring down with shock as Morning Glory simply watched meditatively. The stallion flipped through the air, unable to catch himself, not knowing any magic that could help before he clenched his eyes shut, flipped, and just tried to believe... and he slammed down to the grassy courtyard, legs buckling and trembling, his whole body giving a pulse of pain before he slowly opened one eye... then laughed stupidly, staring back and forth with amazement. He had survived. He was actually okay. He opened his mouth, grinning widely and beginning to call out... and then Morning Glory slammed down in front of him, cutting him off as she leaned down to look into his eyes, and his excitement and joy curdled slowly into something like terror and misery as the Destroyer said in a less-than-enthused voice: “It's a start, but I could have made that jump as a mortal. As a mortal foal, as a matter of fact. So I am far from impressed and we are far from done.” Antares looked up at the Destroyer lamely, and then he said finally: “You know what you just did to my confidence and my happiness and... pretty much everything else? Of course you do. You really like living up to your namesake, don't you?” “No backtalk.” Morning Glory said moodily, and then she emphasized this by flicking her horn, and Antares yelled and staggered backwards as he burst into white flames for a moment: it scalded his skin and hurt like hell, but left not a mark on his cast or singed his mane. The pain was from purification, not actual heat and fire, and it only lasted for a few moments before whiffing out as the mare added calmly: “Remember, Antares Mīrus. The fact you're so resistant to purification just gives me all the more reason to use it as a teaching method. I won't have to worry about hurting you beyond anything you can heal.” Antares opened his mouth... then slowly closed it before slumping his shoulders, still steaming faintly as he nodded glumly and wondered moodily how many times his big mouth was going to get him in trouble over the next few hours. Top ↑